Medicaid

new and noteworthy

What Newly Released Medicaid Data Do and Don’t Tell Us

Medicaid Coverage of and Spending on GLP-1s

Medicaid and Upcoming State Budget Debates

Health Provisions in the 2025 Federal Budget Reconciliation Law

A View of Medicaid Today and a Look Ahead: Balancing Access, Budgets and Upcoming Changes

KFF's 25th annual Medicaid budget survey report highlights certain policies in place in state Medicaid programs in state fiscal year (FY) 2025 and policy changes implemented or planned for FY 2026.

Medicaid: What to Watch in 2026

In this brief, KFF explores how state fiscal pressures are likely to converge with the implementation of the 2025 reconciliation law to affect Medicaid coverage, financing, and access to care over the next year, especially leading up to the midterm elections.

Featuring policy research, polling and news about how Medicaid is changing, and the impact of those changes due to the tax and spending cuts law

Medicaid and work

Tracking Medicaid Work Requirements:
Data and Policies

To implement Medicaid work requirements, states will need to make important policy and operational decisions, implement needed system upgrades or changes, develop new outreach and education strategies, and hire and train staff, all within a relatively short timeframe. The information tracked here can serve as a resource to understand Medicaid work requirements and state options, gauge readiness, and track implementation of the requirements.

A Closer Look at Nebraska, the First State Planning to Implement a Medicaid Work Requirement

Challenges with Implementing Work Requirements: Findings from a Survey of State Medicaid Programs

To better understand how states are preparing for Medicaid work requirements, states were asked to discuss anticipated challenges to implementing work requirements by the end of 2026, including related system changes and data matching.

Implementing Work Requirements on a National Scale: What We Know from State Waiver Experience

A Look at the Potential Impact of the High Unemployment Hardship Exception to Work Requirements

understanding medicaid

5 Facts: Medicaid and Immigrants

Confusion persists about immigrants’ eligibility for federal programs. This brief helps readers understand how current Medicaid policy affects immigrants as well as the potential impacts of policy changes under the Trump administration.

5 Facts: Medicaid and Rural Areas

Approximately 66 million people live in rural areas – about 20% of the U.S. population. Nearly 1 in 4 of them have Medicaid, a higher share than in urban areas (24% vs 21%).

5 Facts: Medicaid and Hospitals

Absorbing reductions in Medicaid spending could be challenging for hospitals, particularly for those that are financially vulnerable. This brief provides data on the reach of Medicaid across hospitals, patients, and charity care.

5 Facts: Provider Taxes

All states except Alaska cover some state Medicaid costs with taxes on health care providers. This brief uses data from KFF’s 2024-2025 survey of Medicaid directors to describe current practices and the federal rules governing them.

5 Facts: Nursing Facilities

The substantial Medicaid savings in the reconciliation bill that has been passed by the House could have major implications for nearly 15,000 federally certified nursing facilities and the 1.2 million people living in them.

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Work Requirements

Challenges with Implementing Work Requirements

Many states are anticipating a variety of implementation challenges, including the need for complex system changes, a compressed implementation timeline, and limited staff capacity.

What is the Medicaid Hardship Exception?

The number of Medicaid expansion enrollees who ultimately qualify for the high unemployment hardship exception will depend on how the exception is implemented and how unemployment rates changes.

Tracking Implementation of the 2025 Reconciliation Law: Medicaid Work Requirements

KFF’s interactive tracks key data and policies that will affect how states implement Medicaid work requirements, which are required under the 2025 budget reconciliation law starting in January 2027. The tracker includes state-level data on Medicaid enrollment and renewal outcomes as well as current state enrollment and renewal policies.

A Closer Look at the Work Requirement Provisions in the 2025 Federal Budget Reconciliation Law

This issue brief provides an overview of the work requirement provisions included in the budget reconciliation law, including timelines, state flexibilities, and more.

Nebraska, First Planning to Enforce Medicaid Work Requirement

Nebraska is the first state to announce plans to enforce Medicaid work requirements early, starting May 1, 2026. Here's what to know.

5 Facts: Medicaid and Provider Taxes
This brief describe states’ current provider taxes and how the 2025 reconciliation law changed the federal rules governing them, including potential impacts across states.
Medicaid Financing: The Basics
Medicaid is a major source of financing for states to provide health coverage and long-term services and supports for low-income residents. This brief examines key questions about Medicaid financing and how it works.
5 Facts: Immigrants and Medicaid
This brief provides five key facts on Medicaid and immigrants as context for understanding the potential impacts of policy changes under the Trump administration.
5 Facts: Medicaid and Hospitals
This brief explains the role of Medicaid for hospitals, including how much spending on hospital care comes from Medicaid, the share of births covered by the program, and how Medicaid expansion has impacted hospital finances.
5 Facts: Medicaid and Nursing Facilities
The substantial Medicaid savings in the reconciliation bill could have major implications for nearly 15,000 federally certified nursing facilities and the 1.2 million people living in them.

Eligibility and coverage

Eligibility, Enrollment, and Renewal Policies
KFF's survey findings capture state actions that seek to improve the accuracy and efficiency of Medicaid and CHIP enrollment and renewal processes, as of January 2025.
Seniors and People with Disabilities
More than 1 in 3 people with disabilities (15 million) have Medicaid (35%). In comparison, only 19% of people without disabilities have Medicaid.
Children with Special Needs
Amid debates about proposed cuts to federal Medicaid spending, this brief analyzes key characteristics of children with special health care needs and explores how Medicaid provides them with coverage.
People With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Among the estimated 8 million people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), over three million have Medicaid coverage.
Adults with Chronic Conditions
Among working age adults enrolled in Medicaid, approximately three quarters have one or more chronic conditions, and nearly one-third have three or more.